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Crucifixion:
what's the archaeological evidence?
Paintings by
Pieter
Coeck van Aelst
Charles
le Brun
Benozzo
Gozzoli
Jean
Jouvenet
Michelangelo
Pontormo
Peter
Paul Rubens (1)
Peter
Paul Rubens (2)
Tintoretto
James
Tissot
Rogier
Weyden (1)
Rogier
Weyden (2)
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Things
to know about
paintings of the Descent from the Cross
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Joseph of Arimathaea, a rich and respected member of the Sanhedrin - the Jewish legislative council in Jerusalem - and secretly a disciple, obtained permission from Pilate, the Roman governor, to take the body of Christ from the cross. He brought a linen sheet
and together with Nicodemus who brought myrrh and aloes to preserve the body,
took it down from the cross.
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We
see the nails being removed from the body, or the
body being lowered from the cross.
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There are
usually four people involved: Nicodemus with pincers drawing the nail from the left hand, Joseph taking the weight of the body,
Mary holding the right hand which is already free, and the apostle John standing sorrowfully a little apart.
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From the 16th
century and especially in later painting of the Spanish Netherlands the cross is viewed aslant,
there are often four ladders, and two unidentified men lean over the cross-bar lowering the body to Joseph and Nicodemus. Mary Magdalene kneels,
and there is a third woman, Mary the wife of Clopas. The instruments of the Passion lie on the ground: the crown of thorns, nails, and sometimes the
inscripion and sponge. The body may be lowered to the ground
by lowering it and sliding it down a long winding-sheet.
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Joseph and Nicodemus can be distinguished by their dress. The former is
richly clad, in contrast to the latter who is of more lowly appearance. In supporting the body Joseph takes the
upper part, Nicodemus the lower. St John is of youthful
appearance, often long-haired.
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Prior to the
Counter- Reformation the Virgin is sometimes seen swooning into the arms of
her companions, but in later works she stands, perhaps clasping her hands.
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Mary Magdalene,
important in the Counter-Reformation as an example of
Christian repentance, is a major figure.She is richly
dressed and may wipe Jesus' feet with her luxuriant hair.
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'Descent
from the Cross', Rogier Weyden
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'The
Descent from the Cross', Tintoretto
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Tintoretto
aimed to present the people in his paintings as individuals,
giving them unique personalities, capturing the moment as they
experienced it. The descent from the cross was no longer a
tableau with static figures, as it had been for example in
Botticelli's paintings. Look at Mary's face. Unlike Jesus, she
is still living, and suffering terribly. Her eyes have seen more
than a mother can endure, and she has retreated into a
semi-conscious state.
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'The
Descent from the Cross', Peter Paul
Rubens, 1612
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'Descent
from the Cross', Benozzo Gozzoli
Click
on this complicated painting to enlarge - it's worth it...
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'Descent
from the Cross', Peter Paul Rubens
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The
Bible text: Christ is taken down from the Cross
Matthew 27:57-58
57
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathe'a, named
Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58
He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered
it to be given to him.
Mark 15:42-46
42
And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is,
the day before the sabbath, 43
Joseph of Arimathe'a, a respected member of the council, who was also
himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate,
and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 And
Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he
asked him whether he was already dead. 45
And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the
body to Joseph. 46 And he bought a linen
shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid
him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone
against the door of the tomb.
Luke 23: 50-54
50
Now there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathe'a. He
was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51
who had not consented to their purpose and deed, and he was looking for
the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to
Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53
Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud, and laid him in a
rock-hewn tomb, where no one had ever yet been laid. 54
It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning.
John 19:38-40
38
After this Joseph of Arimathe'a, who was a disciple of Jesus, but
secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the
body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him leave. So he came and took away his
body. 39
Nicode'mus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a
mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds' weight. 40
They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the
spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
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